Authorities are hunting for a former Commonwealth Bank executive who left the country after learning an investigation was under way into his allegedly receiving kickbacks.
The New Zealand national may have escaped police for now, but a former colleague wasn’t so lucky.
A 61-year-old man was arrested in Sydney on Tuesday, months after his employer, the Commonwealth Bank, noticed suspicious payments made into his bank account.
The US national, who police allege was trying to flee the country when he was arrested, is accused of being in a corrupt relationship with an overseas company that was providing IT services to the CBA.
The man was allegedly receiving kickbacks from a not-for-profit organisation, set up as a shell company to launder the payments from the US-based IT company.
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Police allege the man and the other banking executive granted the IT company a lucrative contract without putting it to public tender and in exchange the managers received kickbacks.
The US national, who was fired from the bank late last year, is due to face a Sydney court on Wednesday.
He is charged with two counts of bribery.
The other executive is believed to be in the US, police say, but a warrant hasn’t been issued for his arrest.
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NSW Cybercrime and Fraud Squad boss Detective Superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis said the executive fled the country when police froze $US1.5 million ($A1.96 million) in suspected corrupt payments.
“We believe there was more money, some of that money is no longer there,” he told reporters.
Katsogiannis said the alleged fraud was at “the top echelon”.
The two individuals, who were already on substantial salaries, were probably the most senior executives that have been caught out for this offence, he said.
The bank contract awarded to the US-based IT company was worth tens of millions of dollars, police allege.
A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson confirmed it was the institution that reported the matter to police.
“We have no tolerance for illegal activity by any employee and we take every situation seriously,” the spokesperson said.
“We confirm that no customer has been affected by this matter.”
